Test Results

If you are phoning for the result of a test, we would like you to do this after 11:00am. Your doctor or nurse should try and remind you of this at the time. This allows time for the incoming blood results and letters for that day to scanned into you records and then checked by your doctor. The reception staff should also have more time do deal with your request at these relatively quieter times.

Most blood, urine and swab results are back at the surgery within 2-3 days although more specialised tests can take longer. The results of most other GP requested tests e.g. X-rays/scans can take an average of 10 days to arrive back at the surgery. Waiting times have risen significantly in 2014 however, sometimes taking 4-5 weeks for a result to be reported, so if in doubt please call the surgery to check beforehand. Also, if the test was requested by a consultant in hospital it will probably take 3-4 weeks before your GP is notified. We experience similar lengthy delays for clinic and hospital discharge letters. We appreciate this can be frustrating and is far from ideal but unfortunately, we do not have any control over this.

Whilst we endeavour to notify patients of abnormal results, we would ask you to assume some active responsibility in finding out the results of your tests.

Hospital Appointments

With local waiting times often quite long it is understandable this is also a source of frustration! Patients commonly want to chase up their appointment times or try and bring them forward. However, we again have no control over the appointment allocation and our secretaries do not have privileged access to the hospital departments. Urgent appointments are offered according to set clinical conditions and consultants will not accept letters from GPs appealing for a particular patient to be pushed up the ladder. We would therefore ask patients to contact the hospital directly if they have enquires about their appointment time or wish to be put on cancellation lists.

Blood Tests

A blood test is when a sample of blood is taken for testing in a laboratory. Blood tests have a wide range of uses and are one of the most common types of medical test. We typically take blood from over 300 patients per week, resulting in 1000's of different tests being requested. For example, a blood test can be used to:

assess your general state of health

confirm the presence of a bacterial or viral infection

see how well certain organs, such as the liver and kidneys, are functioning

A blood test usually involves the phlebotomist taking a blood sample from a blood vessel in your arm. and the usual place for a sample is the inside of the elbow or wrist, where the veins are relatively close to the surface. Blood samples from children are most commonly taken from the back of the hand. The child's hand will be anaesthetised (numbed) with a special cream before the sample is taken.

You can find out more about blood tests, their purpose and the way they are performed can be found here.

X-Ray

An X-ray is a widely used diagnostic test to examine the inside of the body. X-rays are a very effective way of detecting problems with bones, such as fractures. They can also often identify problems with soft tissue, such as pneumonia or breast cancer.

X-rays are generally arranged at Woodend Hospital although some may be undertaken at the Foresterhill complex, the Health Village in Aberdeen and Aboyne Hospital.

If you have a X-ray, you will be asked to lie on a table or stand against a surface so that the part of your body being X-rayed is between the X-ray tube and the photographic plate.

An X-ray is usually carried out by a radiographer, a healthcare professional who specialises in using imaging technology, such as X-rays and ultrasound scanners.

You can find out more about x-ray tests, how they are performed, their function and the risks here.

Ultrasound scans

We run a twice weekly in-house ultrasound service for abdominal, pelvic and scrotal scans run by Dr Valerie Steven and visiting radiographer Chris Clark. Dr Nicky Showell also undertakes scanning in early pregnancy for the expectant mums in the Deeside area.